ICRA downgrades YES Bank's long-term rating for bonds worth Rs 32,911 crore

Rating agency ICRA has downgraded private lender YES Bank’s long-term rating while maintaining a negative outlook on the bank, citing the lenders’ inability to reduce its exposure in the ‘BB’ and below-rated accounts and erosion in tier-1 capital on account of increase in risk-weighted assets and accelerated provisioning, leading to muted profitability. 

The rating agency has downgraded Rs 32,911 crore worth of bond programme of the lender. Ratings on bonds worth Rs 22,111 crore was downgraded one notch, while that for bonds worth Rs 10,800 crore was downgraded two notches. 

ICRA said the ratings of bonds worth Rs 10,800 crore are already three notches lower than the rating for the Basel III compliant tier II bonds of YES Bank, as these instruments have loss-absorption features that make them riskier. 

The lenders’ gross non-performing assets along with ‘BB’ and below-rated exposures was to the tune of Rs 41,558 crore in the June quarter of 2019-20, compared to Rs 30,772 crore in the preceding March quarter.